Marking stacks of sheets or the like



O. T. THOMPSON MARKING STACKS OF SHEETS OR THE LIKE July 6, 1937.

Filed April 19, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 0, 1937. o. T. ITHOM-PSON-2,086,006

MARKING STACKS OF SHEETS OR THE LIKE Filed Ap ril'19, 1935 I 2Sheets-Sheet 2 @272250'7 Gaga/ 177207 0307; /@5=M F Patented July 6,1937 MARKING STACKS 9F SHEETS OR. THE LIKE Gscar T. Thompson, Nsenah,Wis, assignor to International (lellucotton Products Company, Chicago,111., a corporation of Delaware Application April 19, 1935, Serial No.17,213

3 Claims.

This invention relates to marking stacks of sheets or the like,particularly to indicate groups or sets of sheets embodying apredetermined number of the sheets to facilitate separation of the stackinto such groups for packaging purposes.

The main objects of the invention are to provide a marking arrangementfor the purpose indicated which may be employed without inter" ruptingthe operation of the mechanism for forming the stack of material; toprovide a marking arrangement which will not damage or injure any of thestacked material; to provide an arrangement which will avoid thenecessity for special or colored marking sheets or slips; to

provide an arrangement for marking which is readily adaptable to variousforms of stacking mechanism; and in general, it is the object of theinvention to provide an improved arrangement for marking stacks ofsheets or the like to indicate divisions thereof containing apredetermined number of sheets.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be understood byreference to the following specification and accompanying drawings (2sheets), wherein there is illustrated a winding mechanism such asemployed in the production of facial or cleansing tissues for eflectingstacking of folded sheets, one form of the invention being applied tosuch winding mechanism.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a plan of the improved windingmechanism;

Fig. 2 is a and Fig. 3 is a cross section on an enlarged scale on theline 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawings, the winding section on the line 2-2 ofFig. l,

mechanism there disclosed is generally similar in to the typeillustrated in the patent to Campbell No. 1,905,899, and includes atubular shaft 5 which is suitably jour'naled for rotation in bearingsformed in side frame members 8, 8. The tubular shaft is also axiallyslidable in its bearings to a limited extent for a purpose which willpresently appear.

Suitably supported on the tubular shaft 5, are groups of radiallyextending arms or spokes l which, at their outer ends, carry shoes orplates 8.

59 The rotary device embodying the shaft 5, the spokes l and shoes 8, isadapted to be rotated at any desired speed of rotation through suitabledriving means, in this instance illustrated as including bevel gearconnections 9 and Ill with a driven gear H, the latter being suitablydriven by other gears as indicated at H or other- Wise.

On the machine illustrated in the said Campbell patent, a web or webs ofcrepe tissue paper may be slitted into strips of narrower Width than suematerial in this instance are designated M,

l4, there being four such strips. It will, of course, be understood thatthe numberof strips into which a web is divided or whether a web isdivided at all, is not material'to the present application. Thedisclosure of four strips is merely selected as illustrating oneapplication of the invention.

The strips M, H! are suitably attached to one of the shoes 8 and thewinding mechanism then rotated so as to cause the strips or web to beWound to form multi-ply rolls on the winding mechanism.

To facilitate separation of the roll into groups or sets of any givennumber of plies or turns, it has been more or less customary tointerpose a colored sheet of paper or other material between appropriateturns when the desired number is wound on the winding mechanism. Thismethod is objectionable, because in high speed winding mechanism it isdifilcult to insert a colored markor in the proper place, and becausethe use of such colored markers adds expense not only in respect of thecost of the marker but also in the cost of disposing of the markersafter use and the incidental problem of such disposal.

According to the present invention, colored marking slips or the likeare dispensed'with and marking effected by causing relative shifting ofthe web feeding and winding devices to cause the sheet material wound upafter a shift to be wound in offset relation to the material wound upprior to the shift.

In Fig. 1, the mechanism for effecting such shifting is shown asincluding a flanged collar l5 7 suitably secured to the shaft 5, and alever l5 pivoted at one end as indicated at ll on a bracket extendingfrom the adjacent frame 5. Thelever l6 intermediate its ends carries aroller it for operative engagement with the collar 15 (between itsflanges), and the free end of the lever is pivoted as indicated at I9 toan operating handle 20. It will be apparent that by rocking the lever itthrough the agency of the handle 29, the shaft 5 and the Windingmechanism carried thereby will be shifted axially relative to thefeeding means comprising the rolls i2, i2.

To permit shifting of the shaft 5 without interfering with the drivingengagement of the gears 9, the shaft may be splined as indicated at 2!to the gear 9 on the end of the shaft thereby permitting the shaft toslide through the gear with out effecting axial movement of the gear.The gear on the shaft 5 may be held in fixed relation to its cooperatinggear by suitable bracket and collar means as indicated in the drawings.

It being understood that the webs M are normally fed by the feedingrolls I2, l2 in a substantially fixed path of movement, it will be seenthat if the rotary winding mechanism is shifted, the describedoffsetting will be effected. If for instance it is desired to providefor separation of the wound up sheets in groups of 50 plies, the rotarywinding means, after attachment of the Webs thereto, will be permittedto turn 50 complete revolutions, whereupon the winding device will beshifted axially and permitted to turn another 50 revolutions. When thesecond set of 50 turns is completed, the winding device is again shiftedaxially, this time being brought back to its initial position and athirdset of 50 layers wound thereon. The number of shifts which may beutilized is, of course, without limit and is governed only by thecapacity of the Winding device. In the present instance, sheet countingmechanism of any suitable type may be provided as indicated at 2!, suchdevice being driven in any suitable manner by connection to the shaft ofthe winding mechanism. In this instance the counter 2| is illustrated asbeing driven by a chain 22 which engages sprockets such as indicated at23 which are carried by the operating shaft of the counter and the shaft5.

When the winding of sheets is completed, the rolls may be removed'fromthe winding mechanism by slitting the same transversely. One method ofdoing so is indicated in Fig. 2, wherein a circular saw 24 is driven byan electric motor 25 which is carried by a base plate 26. The base plate26 is slidably mounted on a track 21 which is suitably supported by theframes 6, 6. The shoes 8 and spokes i may be suitably grooved or forkedas indicated in Fig. 2, to permit the saw to out through the Webs Woundthereon or if desired, the cutting may be accomplished between adjacentshoes thereby avoiding the provision of grooves such as indicated at 28.It appears preferable however, to provide the grooves in that the woundup sheets are better supported adjacent the line of cutting than if thecutting is done intermediate adjacent shoes. When the rolls are cuttransversely in the manner indicated, the rolls become elongated stacksof sheets in groups of predetermined number, the groups being indicatedby the offset relationship thereof. This relationship is clearlyindicated in Fig. 3, an examination of which will indicate clearly thedistinct separation of the predetermined groups. For example in Fig. 3,the entire thickness of the stack indicated by the arrows 28 may embody200 turns or plies, whereas each of the offset groups designated 29embody 5O plies. Each group of webbing such as 28 may be severedtransversely to form individual stacks of predetermined lengths, andsuch individual stacks may be then of the shoes 8 separated intoseparate sets of 50 sheets or whatever number is determined upon inadvance.

For holding the winding mechanism in its shifted position, any suitableform of locking arrangement may be provided. In this instance there isillustrated a spring-pressed plunger device designated 3! the plunger 3ithereof being adapted successively to enter notches 32 and 33 providedin the operating handle 2E]. The handle 25 is of course suitably guidedin brackets such as indicated at 3 3 carried by the frame member 6.

In the above described arrangement, the shaft 5 was described as being atubular shaft. In the mechanism contemplated the winding device is of atype commonly called a collapsible Winding device. Such a Winding deviceis so arranged that for each turn of webbing applied thereto, the shoes8 are moved inwardly approximately the thickness of the turn of Webbingapplied there-to. This is for the purpose of maintaining a substantiallyconstant outer diameter of the roll of webbing to avoid the formation ofbeveled ends which must be wasted when the rolls are cut from thewinding mechanism. The mechanism which effects such inward movement iscontrolled by a shaft 35 disposed within the tubular shaft 5 and gearinghoused Within a casing 35 and operating on rack bars or the like formedon the inner ends of the spokes 7 which enter said casing 36. The shaft35 is controlled by suitable gear mechanism contained in a housing 31 atone side of the mechanism, such mechanism being adapted to be adjustedby a hand wheel 38 whereby the shoes 8 may be reset to their startingposition after completion of a winding operation. The adjustable Windingmechanism arrangement just referred to forms no part of the presentinvention and hence need not be more specifically described. Suchmechanism is, however, well known in the art.

The described arrangement for marking stacked sheets may be employed inconnection with other stacking devices and it is not restricted in itsuse to winding stacking devices such as herein described. Also, it isnot intended, by reference to crepe tissue paper in the foregoingdescription to restrict the invention to association with such materialsince it is equally applicable to marking stacks of other kinds ofsheets. r

Changes in the described construction may be made without departing fromthe spirit of the invention the scope of which should be determined byreference to the following claims, the same being construed as broadlyas possible consistent with the state of the art.

I claim:

1. In a machine for visibly marking continuously Wound superposed stacksof sheets or the like, the combination of means for continuously feedinga web of sheet material, rotating means for receiving the web andwinding the same upon itself to form a multi-ply roll, and means foreffecting relative shifting of said feeding means and said rotatingmeans alternately in opposite directions laterally of said web atselected inter vals, the extent of said shifting being less thanone-half the width of the web, whereby the complete roll indicatesdivisions each embodying a predetermined number of turns or plies of thematerial.

2. In a machine for visibly marking continuously wound superposed stacksof sheets or the like, the combination of means for continuously feedinga web of sheet material, rotating means for receiving the web andwinding the same upon itself to form a multi-ply roll, and means forshifting said winding means alternately in opposite directions laterallyof said web at selected intervals, the extent of said shifting beingless than one-half the width of the web, whereby the several superposedsections of the complete roll are wound in laterally staggered relation.

3. In a machine for visibly marking continuously wound superposed stacksof sheet material, the combination of a rotatably driven reel on whichto wind a web of sheet material, means for guiding the. web to the reel,and means for efiecting relative movements between said reel and saidguiding means alternately in opposite directions lengthwise of the reelaxis and during the rotation of the reel, thereby to effect winding ofthe. web upon itself in sidewise offset and superposed relation to thematerial wound on the. reel immediately before each movement, the extentof each movement being sufiicient to cause a substantial offset of theplies wound after said movement relatively to the plies wound beforesaid 10 'movement.

OSCAR T. THOMPSON.

